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Re: Reds Fans Slow In Returning to Ballpark

Originally Posted by BuckWoody

My Dad has stories like that from the old Crosley Field days. You'd park on the street and some of the neighborhood kids would "watch your car" for a dollar. Dad said he always paid the dollar and his car was always fine when he got back.

Re: Reds Fans Slow In Returning to Ballpark

Both of the ballparks look so removed from everything there. Is that true or is it just the scale of the map?

edit: Oof, 700 posts, how little work I get done when the Reds are doing well.

It would look a lot better if they got around to putting something between PBS and GABP to go with the Underground RR Museum. I think the huge open area between the stadiums makes the Ft. Washington Way gap look bigger than it is. Turn the PBS Lot D into underground parking and get that Banks Project going and it will look pretty nice.

Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!

In a deal brokered by the Reds' new owners, Hamilton County and the city of Cincinnati agreed Wednesday to resolve their differences over the proposed $600 million Banks project.

The governments will create a new five-member entity that will make all major decisions on the stalled riverfront development.

The Banks Working Group will be led by Reds CEO Bob Castellini. The other members will be picked by:
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The county.

Mayor Mark Mallory.

The Cincinnati Center Development Corp., known as 3CDC. The private, nonprofit group is redeveloping Fountain Square and Over-the-Rhine.

Castellini, with approval of the county.

Group decisions, which must be unanimous, will include picking a developer. Decisions would need approval by City Council and the county commission.

"Now, we can finally count on a 50-acre mudhole becoming a world-class retail, office and residential community," commission president Phil Heimlich said.

Wednesday's deal was struck after 13 hours of intense negotiations in the past several days.

Heimlich joined Mallory and council members Chris Bortz and Jeff Berding. The sessions, at Great American Ball Park, were facilitated by Castellini and Tom Williams, both 3CDC board members and Reds owners.

Castellini was the only person named Wednesday to the five-member working group; the rest are expected to be named in coming days.

NO ONE TRAMPLED

"I think this is very close to what the city and the county were originally hoping for. No one is going to feel trampled," Bortz said following Wednesday's announcement at the ballpark, which is located across Main Street from the Banks site.

Among the key issues dividing the two governments were their intertwined land, air and development rights for the project, which will include a waterfront park and will be built up out of the Ohio River flood plain atop garages. Also disputed were a loan being sought from the state, parking garage revenues and the tens of millions in public revenue that the development is expected to generate.

One point left unclear after the announcement was whether the working group's meetings would be public. Mallory said after the news conference that he doesn't think the working group would be public, arguing that Ohio's open meetings law doesn't apply to the group because it will only make recommendations.

"It would be very, very difficult to make the kinds of decisions they'll make in an open process," he said. Among those decisions is how to spend about $100 million in tax dollars.

OPEN MEETINGS

But Enquirer editor and vice president Tom Callinan said it's vital for the meetings to be public.

"We're pleased the city and county made progress on this important development, but we'll insist that these meetings be public," he said. "They must be open because taxpayers are paying for it."

The county stunned city officials in June with the announcement that it was taking charge of moving the Banks project forward. A hoped-for deal with a consortium led by Covington-based Corporex Cos. fell apart in December, after which the county issued a general request for qualifications from developers in February.

The county faced steep hurdles to continuing the process without the cooperation of the city, including a city ordinance passed March 1 that would withhold needed financing and development rights if the city were not included in the oversight.

The county's selection of a developer has been on hold since early April as the two governments remained at odds.

Under the framework announced Wednesday, there is no specific timeframe for the selection of the master developer.

'THE ENEMY ... IS DELAY'

But it seemed likely that the group would work quickly.

"The enemy of this project is delay," Heimlich said. "Castellini and Williams would not tolerate delay. That was the point they drove home."

Delays potentially jeopardized tens of millions of dollars in financing the county believed it has in place to help pay for the Banks.

Heimlich said the working group would soon receive the recommendation of a four-person county advisory committee as to which company should be selected as the developer.

In addition, the working group will be responsible for developing the project's small- and minority-business inclusion plans.

Immediately following the news conference, City Council adopted a resolution supporting Wednesday's agreement.

Councilman Jeff Berding said the recent talks between the city and county were exactly what were needed to move the process forward.

'AVERT A TRAIN WRECK'

"I'd said to a number of people in the business community, 'If you want to avert a train wreck, you're going to have to get us in a room and work it out.' That's how everything on the riverfront has been worked out in the past," he said.

The agreement came a week after former Cincinnati mayors Bobbie Sterne and David Mann filed a lawsuit, asking a judge to force the county to live up to previous agreements with the city and work cooperatively to develop the Banks.

SUIT LIKELY TO BE DROPPED

"It's hard to believe that was merely a coincidence," lawyer Marc Mezibov said of the announcement, which accomplishes what the Sterne-Mann suit sought.

Re: Reds Fans Slow In Returning to Ballpark

One thing for me as well as many of my friends who go to school in Bloomington Indiana is the overall price of gas! I know that may sound like a cop-out for some, but it really does put a strain on college kids such as ourselves. The reds have always relied on the tri-state region for attendance, but when it cost upwards of 75 bucks for a trip from central Indiana to Cincy and back, you feel it for a few days afterwords in the pocketbook. I have a hunch this may continue for many travelers who have driven the 3 hour or more trip to catch a few games during the year in the past....o well, I guess first place may be worth it!

Re: Reds Fans Slow In Returning to Ballpark

I'm blind but I don't see a ballpark here. Does that brick tower thing kind of to the right have something to do with it? Is the tower going to cut the ballpark out of the skyline?

Sorry, this must be frustrating for those of you who see the ballpark a lot -- I'm just very unfamiliar with the current Cincinnati downtown.

edit: I'm an idiot. It's that big thing on the left is it? I have one contact in by the way.

The proposed tower is located on the other side of Ft. Washington Way. The ballpark lies between Ft. Washington Way and the River. You don't see the ballpark due to the perspective of the rendering and the fact it is blocked by US Bank Arena (just left of the bridge). USBA and GABP are connected.

Re: Reds Fans Slow In Returning to Ballpark

Originally Posted by vaticanplum

Everything you guys say about the fans jumping on the bandwagon etc. made perfect sense to me until I read in another thread recently that you can to go a game at GABP for four or five dollars. 4 or 5 bucks for professional baseball. As far as I'm concerned that place should be sold out every night..

Well, those $5 seats are the worse seats and they are limited. It's still a nice thing for the Reds to do though.

It's going to take time to undo the damage that Allen and Carl Lindner have done.
Even on this board, which is full of diehards, I don't see anyone truly believing that we are a contender this season. It's pretty much assumed that this fast start is a mirage.

I might see a game in the second half of the season, but I'm not buying tickets in advance and risking getting Dave Williams or Milton.

Thank you Walt and Bob for bringing winning baseball back to Cincy -- it was nice while it lasted..

Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!

Re: Reds Fans Slow In Returning to Ballpark

Originally Posted by jocross

One thing for me as well as many of my friends who go to school in Bloomington Indiana is the overall price of gas! I know that may sound like a cop-out for some, but it really does put a strain on college kids such as ourselves. The reds have always relied on the tri-state region for attendance, but when it cost upwards of 75 bucks for a trip from central Indiana to Cincy and back, you feel it for a few days afterwords in the pocketbook. I have a hunch this may continue for many travelers who have driven the 3 hour or more trip to catch a few games during the year in the past....o well, I guess first place may be worth it!

I wonder if the Reds might consider looking into some buses for games from major areas. Do other teams have something like that. For example, maybe you start in Lima or Findlay and come down I-75 with stops at a few places. Same for the other corridors.

I know Cincinnati Metro used to run specials to the ballpark from various shopping areas.

Re: Reds Fans Slow In Returning to Ballpark

Originally Posted by REDREAD

Well, those $5 seats are the worse seats and they are limited. It's still a nice thing for the Reds to do though.

It's going to take time to undo the damage that Allen and Carl Lindner have done.
Even on this board, which is full of diehards, I don't see anyone truly believing that we are a contender this season. It's pretty much assumed that this fast start is a mirage.

I might see a game in the second half of the season, but I'm not buying tickets in advance and risking getting Dave Williams or Milton.

Hey! I think they're GREAT seats - esp. someone on a budget like me. :

2017 Reds record when I'm attending: 16-14 FINAL

2017 Dragons record when I'm attending: 1-0 FINAL

"We want to be the band to dance to when the bomb drops." - Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran

Re: Reds Fans Slow In Returning to Ballpark

Originally Posted by redsmetz

I wonder if the Reds might consider looking into some buses for games from major areas. Do other teams have something like that. For example, maybe you start in Lima or Findlay and come down I-75 with stops at a few places. Same for the other corridors.

I know Cincinnati Metro used to run specials to the ballpark from various shopping areas.

The last time I remember the Metro doing that during the regular season was in 1999 - I parked and took the bus from Forest Park for the Cardinals series in September.

2017 Reds record when I'm attending: 16-14 FINAL

2017 Dragons record when I'm attending: 1-0 FINAL

"We want to be the band to dance to when the bomb drops." - Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran

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